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Blotto
Singles Collection 2004-2007 |
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Tracklist |
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01. Sweet heart of moon
02. Bit by Bit
03. Pretty little horses
04. perfect nervous
05. Utopia
06. (can you feel?)～Most beautiful in the world～ |
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Review |
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I felt like I had listened to every single CD I could sample in the store by the time I got around to Most beautiful in the world by Good Dog Happy Men, and I was still yet to find something that piqued my interest. Of course, the first couple decent CDs that I sample in a trip to a record store get a full listen, but as time passes the amount of time spent on each CD gets shorter, and most CDs get 5-10 seconds to make a good impression before I press the next button on the 6-CD changer. So, had Good Dog Happy Men not opened as strongly as they did, I might've ended up walking home with a copy of the latest new-wave power pop band (my guilty pleasure), only half satisfied.
Luckily, the opening song of Most beautiful in the world, "Sweet heart of moon," starts with a wonderfully dissonant cello duet that grabbed my attention the moment the CD began to spin. My curiosity aroused, I continued to listen through the eclectic 6-song EP and made a swift decision to pick it up. And when I say eclectic, I mean it. Each of the 6 songs on the EP stand alone, and all, save for the somewhat cliched "Perfect nervous," display extraordinary songwriting complexity and pop sense.
After the cello duet intro fades out on "Sweet heart of moon" a simple two-chord strummed acoustic guitar part comes in, backed by lead singer/guitarist Monden Masaaki's ethereal vocals. As the song progresses, layer upon layer builds up until the final chorus, which features quadruple-layered vocals and a full string ensemble in addition to the normal rock band elements. However, despite this incredible excess, the parts fit together so well that the song sounds remarkably simple on the casual listen.
The moment the reverberations from "Sweet heart of moon" fade, "Bit by Bit" opens with a blazing fast drum solo and the band apart-esque melodic guitar ripping, dramatically upping the pace. The song is all about Monden and drummer Uchida Takeru (old BURGER NUDS bandmates) playing off one another to bring the energy to the next level.
The next song, "Pretty little horses," is arguably the best song on the album. Much like "Sweet heart of moon," "Pretty little horses" features multi-layered complexity, but the layers work together so well that a casual listen will reveal no trace of such. The song itself is very hard to pin down, as little stays constant from start to finish besides the laid-back, walking drum part. The verses are scattered all over the place, featuring guitar interplay, harmonica solos, unaccompanied chanting, and even hip-hop style spoken word. But no matter what direction the verse goes in, the chorus always come back to the lyric "Pretty little horses," invariably chanted in the same way, ensuring that the listener will want to chant along every time.
After the up-beat BURGER NUDS style filler "Perfect Nervous" comes "Utopia." Again, Uchida sets the mood for the song with a laid-back drum part, later joined by Monden's gospel-style vocals and occasional guitar hits. As the song progresses, layers build consistently, increasing the energy even while the pace remains unchanged. Most beautiful in the world wraps up with the country/folk styled title track. The title track is relatively straightforward compared to the others, but still manages to throw in a few surprises including a heavily distorted talk-box solo in the middle.
With Most beautiful in the world, Good Dog Happy Men manage to span a wide variety of genres, yet pull off each of them remarkably well. This is due to an impeccable attention to detail in the songwriting process, piling layer upon layer of sound onto each of the tracks, yet never managing to do so in a way that never turns overbearing or heavy. Being able to pay this much attention to detail, yet still create songs that are fun for the listener, is a rare gift. If they keep up the effort, who knows how far they'll go. |
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